The World Needs You Awake
by princessofpyke
Summary: Years after the war, Aang has been living a boring life of meetings, duties and royal parties. However a misunderstanding will be set his and everyone's world off. He will have to learn about true love and true sacrifice.
1. Mizaki

_This is my first fanfiction on so be play nice,kitties! The story is yours for the taking. Zutara? Taang? Sukka? We'll find out eventually. And of course, reviews are graciously appreciated._

_This story takes place years after the defeat of the Fire Lord. _

_"Open your eyes, the world needs you awake..." _

_"What is love but an obsession with love itself?"_

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><p>Outside the streets were not quiet. It was a hazy Friday noon. Everyone was extremely busy, people were hustling through the streets of Ba Sing Se, the great capital of the Earth kingdom. It was a very important event about to occur later that day. No one knew that better than Aang.<p>

"Aaw,Mizaki do I really,really have to?" asked the young monk to his companion. "I mean,Mizaki,I just arrived from my trip to the Fire Nation and the Union meeting. I'm tired. I just wanna rest,eat something and sleep..." Mizaki,an old vivacious man looked at him sternly. He understood the Avatar was a comprenhensive,reponsible person yet he was still a youngster who acted on emotions and was very lazy at times. "Hush. You should be grateful the people of the Earth Kingdom care about you this much." the old man said strongly. "To them you are a very important person. You are treated as you were the king! I say,if I was you,I would be a little more appreciative young Avatar!"

Aang made a face,unaware of course,he hated being scolded by Mizaki. Especially when Mizaki seemed to have a little more reasoning than him. "I am appreciative! It's not like I like being treated like royalty around here..." he said looking out the window.

In fact,he hated it. He hated being treated like he was a prince,a king, an emperor. The people,here,worshipped him. Like he was one of the royal family. Or even greater. Of course,he was the Avatar,the maginificent Airbender and savior of the Four Nations. The ONE,he had defeated Ozai. He had brought peace back to the world. He was the greatest. His Highness,he was adressed that way by the Earth people.

Aang knew he was far from being "his highness",he was another guy trying to make his place in this world and fill in the great responsibility to him as Avatar. He had been doing his best. And frankly,things have been going good. Things were almost peaceful in fact. Almost.

Aang's thoughts were interuptted as the carriage moved brutely causing Mizaki to bump his head. "Hey,will you slow down? Do you think we are in a horse race?" Mizaki yelled out the window to the coach. "Rude people," he said quite loudly. "Note to self: get better coach drivers." Mizaki said now more relaxed. "Yes sir," said a squeeky voice. Ozzy was Mizaki loyal assitant,wherever Mizaki went,Ozzy went,too. And wherever Aang went,Mizaki went,so basically Ozzy was always sticking around them.

Aang snickered quietly. Despite his stressful duties,he never forgot his sense of humor. He enjoyed Mizaki's outbursts,he lost his temper quite easily. Mizaki had been a faithful and close friend of Iroh, Zuko's Uncle. They shared some similarity, Aang noticed. Including a love of tea.

"Now,now,don't laugh. It is not a laughing matter. Infact,if I was you, I wouldn't be laughing. You got a long schedule ahead of you... Now,Ozzy,remind the Avatar of his royal duties." Mizaki said. Aang made another face,he hated when Mizaki used the word "royal" and that was,infact,the reason Mizaki used that word.

"Yes,sir. Okay,tonight party..." Ozzy began.  
>"Yes,the party." Mizaki repeated<br>"Tomorrow dinner with King and Queen..." Ozzy continued.  
>"Yes,the dinner with the royales. Very important." Mizaki said<br>"On sunday,meeting at the Union/breakfast..." Ozzy continued in his squeeky voice  
>"Yes,the meeting." Mizaki repeated.<br>"At noon,tea with delegates afterwards.."Ozzy said.  
>"Oh yes,to discuss further ados." Mizaki added<br>"Monday,the Red Dragon festival at the Fire Nation..."

"Wait,the Fire Nation? I just came back from there!" Aang protested. "Can't I have a day off or something,Mizaki?" "Day off?" Mizaki said. "That's nonsense!"  
>"Nonsense!" Ozzy repeated.<br>"You have a packed schedule. And various affairs you must attend prior to any resting. Or consideration of it." Mizaki said

Aang grumbled. Complaining was useless,Mizaki was a master of debating. He was very good at proving his point of view. Aang looked outside. He looked the sky,mostly. The clear,cheery quite cloudy day. When was the last time he had a day-off? You know,a day to go on Appa and fly away (not in a business trip) but in an adventure. Like one of those he had when he was just a kid and he had to face the Fire Nation with his two best friends,Sokka and Katara,and of course,Toph.

Traveling the world,meeting new people,facing adversity. Yes,that had been the life,HAD been. Now,Aang was condemned to duties,schedules,meetings,appearances,schedules,parties,conferences,and even more schedules.

He sighed heavily,he really missed that his old life. Before defeating Ozai. Now how things had changed. He felt he had lost some of his freedom. And he really longed for it.

Mizaki noticed the sad look on Aang's face. "Aang,cheer up! You have always seemed a giddly fellow ever since I met you." Mizaki said now more relaxed. "A bit foolish but very happy." "Besides," he added "I got a surprise for you."

"A surprise? What kind of surprise?" Aang asked curiously. Mizaki wasn't known to give out "surprises" infact,last birthday Mizaki "surprised" with a new pair of red slippers. "oh, a very good one." Mizaki said slyly,he almost giggled.

Now Aang was even more perplexed. What kind of "surprise" would cause Mizaki to giggle. "Aang,as you know I have been taking care of you ever since I met you a year or more after the end of the war." Mizaki said as Ozzy passed him some strong ginger tea. Mizaki loved tea very much,Iroh and him would have tea binges where they bet who could drink the most. Aang wondered what kind of conversations they had under their tea binges.

"Anyhow,I took you under my wing. I grew fond of you quite quickly. You are very likable." he said sipping his tea. The carriage rumbled a bit again,but Mizaki took no notice of it.

"Aang,I... I just want you to be happy,you are like a child to me." Mizaki said warmly. Aang was bit surprised to see the softer side of Mizaki,the man of steel. Well,not quite. Mizaki's family had served the Avatars for many years. He and his family had a long history of offering companionship,devotion for every Avatar. Mizaki had sworn to protect and care for Aang for years to come and he somehow meant it.

"Really,you are." he continued. "It would break my heart to see end up,well,unhappy. You know,all alone,without any family...or children or...wife."

Oh no,Aang knew where this was going. He was hoping he wouldn't dare mention,that he wouldn't bring up of all day of the year. "...Mizaki..." Aang tried to say.

Mizaki interuptted,"No,no,let me continue. Aang you once told me that when you were younger a fortuneteller told you she didn't see any love in your future and you said that you actually believed it. Of course after all that happen with your young friend...oh,Aang you were so young..."

"Stop" Aang thought." Please stop don't go there. Don't mention her..."

"...I mean you were only twelve and she was fourteen what do you expect? For you two to get married and have kids and be happy forever after?" Mizaki said. Ozzy,meanwhile,nodded to Mizaki's words. The room went quiet and Mizaki finally added softly, "Sometimes it doesn't work out."

Aang's mind went blank and at the same time,not so much. He remembered, he remembered everything. He remembered that day. They had just got engaged and they were as happy as can be. Or so he thought. It was two months before they got married. He remembered what she said,"I just don't know what I feel anymore. I think we need to go our separate ways. Sometimes it doesn't work out."

Those words rang hard in Aang's ears and stayed in Aang's heart. He remembered, he would always remember.

Mizaki kept going,"Aang, you know,after Katara..."

"Oh no he said that word",Aang thought.

"...you haven't really dated anyone or been emotionally involved with anyone or physically,for that matter." he said. "Sure,you've gone on a couple of dates because I forced you to." Mizaki continued. He turned to Ozzy,"more tea," he muttered.

"I mean,Aang,I just want the best for you. And it isn't fair that while your suffering the mourn of your loss love,which happened ages ago,she on the otherside,has many suitors and is prancing around." Mizaki added quite angrily. "Yes,she is very fancied by many." Ozzy added. "But she isn't that pretty," Mizaki responded. "No,she is not" Ozzy repeated in his squeeky voice.

Aang beg to differ,he personally thought Katara was the most beautiful girl in the world. She was the greatest,most caring person he had ever met. No one could be as wonderful as her,he said to himself. No one.

"...I mean,Aang,I want you meet someone new. I want you to fall in love,again. I want you to be happy." Mizaki said sincerely. "But I am happy!" Aang protested,somehow both him and Mizaki knew he was lying.

"You are happy,in that way. But you need love,you need something to spice up your life." Mizaki said almost sweetly. "I mean don't you think I don't see your unhappy face whenever you have a meeting,or a packed schedule or something? You need some kick in your life,boy!" Mizaki said giddly while sipping some hot tea.

"And you think getting a girlfriend will help?" Aang said almost bitterly. It was very ironical because Aang actually did NOT believe having a girlfriend would make his life better.

"Well,not exactly..." Mizaki admitted quite guilty. Aang looked at him curiously. "Aang,I want you to get married."

"WHAT? Mizaki please don't start this..." Aang said uncomfortably. He had this conversation with Mizaki when he was 16,again when he was 19 and now again,in the eve of his 22th birthday.

"But not to ANYONE!" Mizaki added anxiously. " Remember these past 6 months I have been very busy? I had been taking trips and we rarely saw eachother..." he was saying. Aang remembered it fondly,it was actually quite nice to get away from Mizaki and Ozzy altogether.

"Well I traveled,alot. All over the world,the four kingdoms if you may. I went to all corners of the world. I started going off the South Pole,since I know you fancy those types...and some were very gorgeous. Beautiful creatures..." Mizaki was saying. "Wait,what types?" Aang interrupted.

"Aang,these past six months I have been looking for the most beautiful girl in the world. Of beauty so striking it would make the deserts cry and oceans dry up. Something so beautiful it would make you forget about any previous girls. Something worthy of the Avatar,himself." Mizaki said at once. "Someone for you,to marry"

Aang stood in shock,he suspected sooner or later Mizaki would set him up with some girl,but he didn't realize to what extend he go to.

Mizaki looked at Aang face, he continued,"Anyway,although beautiful girls do inhabit there. Wth bright blue eyes and beautiful bronze skin,nothing convinced me. Then I went off to the Fire Nation,and I saw the most sensually intimitating girls one might ever find. White pale skin and long locks,feisty eyes. Real charmers but not fit for you,my dearest Avatar. "

Mizaki continued,"Then,I explored throughly the Earth Kingdom,very beautiful nymphs I found. From all over the region. The Kyoshi warriors,such a goddesses,but none satisfied need the best,the most greatest,beautiful creature in the world. And just as I gave up hope and was returning hope,atlas I saw it! Or her. I was stopping by one of the cities on my return to Ba Sing Se and to my wonder,infront of my very own eyes, the most wonderful creature passed by. She was beyond beautiful,no words to describe her. I found out she was linked to very rich family and I automatically went to talked to her parents. They were more than pleased to find out she would become the wife of a very powerful and I may say 'royal' man." Mizaki said happily.

"Yes,yes,it was a very easy deal. Yuk yuk." Mizaki threw himself back and laughed a bit.

Aang couldn't help but stare blankly at Mizaki, horrified. "You,you bought her?" Aang said hysterically. "No,don't be silly it wasn't a bit like that. It was mainly politics,my boy." Mizaki said sternly.

"Still! You basically bought me a wife! Mizaki,are you insane? How do you even know she's gonna like me?" Aang asked loudly. "Oh,hush,marriage is not a matter of like. It's a matter of politics and reasoning." Mizaki said at once. "Mizaki are you crazy?" Aang said hysterically.

"I am not crazy!" Mizaki said now raising his voice." I want to have a wife and be happy,don't you want that?" Aang put his head down,he did want that,he really did.

"So you are getting more than you bargained for. You are getting not only a wife,but a very beautiful one,too. The most beautiful one as a matter of fact." Mizaki said touching his goatee.

"But I don't want a wife!" he protested "I don't want any girl,I already lost the one I wanted! And frankly I don't want anyone else!

"I lost the love of my life!" Aang said very loudly,he didn't realize he said this out loud until a few seconds later. It hurt very much to say it but it was true.

"Hmm." Mizaki said looking down at his empty cup of tea,"we'll see about that when you meet her." Aang nodded unapprovingly. Ozzy looked at Aang,he felt a bit sorry for him. "Poor fellow." Ozzy thought to himself.

"Anyhow,we're approaching Castilla. Might as well,change your clothing and look presentable. You got yourself a big party to attend"

Aang looked out the window,depressingly.


	2. The Party

_Hello, again, dear reader! This chapter two of my lovely saga of love. Reviews like always are lovely. Aang is still a whiny teenager apparently, maybe he'll grow up?_

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><p>Aang entered the room; it was extremely big and spacious. It could fit up to 500 people if it wished , infact, was a very large villa. Castilla was the permanent residence of the Avatar; it was built by the royal family as a thank you gift. And what a lavish thank you gift it had been! 20 guest rooms, 1 great ballroom, four blossoming gardens, 3 luxurious diners, a big stable for Appa (the Avatar's flying bison) and two great living rooms. It was design to be a "home" for the Avatar, but to Aang it was not.<p>

It was more like a prison precisely. All doors were lock at 9 P.M., 40 guards and housekeepers, everything he did was watched carefully, and sometimes it could get suffocating. He also despised the name Castilla which meant "Castle", it was everything Aang did not want.

Neverthyless, he somehow knew it was his home. And sometimes he liked to have someplace to call home. However he did have many homes. In every kingdom, as a matter of fact.

In the Fire Nation, Fire Lord Zuko donated his family's vacationing house for the Avatar's first and only private use. It was a bit very lavish, too like Castilla. But less big, to Aang's relief. In the South Pole, a mansion was built for the Avatar. It was luxury compared to most Water Tribe homes. And back in Aang's home, where the Air Nomads previously lived, the Southwestern Temple was rebuild to fit the Avatar's needs. Aang enjoyed this home out of all of them. Although there were servants and such, it was still more connected to his heart and he could fly off whenever he wished to. He felt a bit more of freedom there.

"Aang, make sure you greet the King and Queen Cordidly, remember, you will have dinner with them tomorrow." Mizaki said interrupting Aang's flow of thoughts.

Aang smiled as he was walked towards the center of the room, it was filled with people Aang both knew and never seen in his life. Many politicians, upper class people, the royal family, some old friends and the royal Fire family, itself.

"Aang!" a voice came from behind him; he was greeted by a man with dark red robes and a bright scar in his left eye. "Zuko! Err, I mean Fire Lord Zuko! How are you? Um, thanks for coming!" the young avatar replied happily. The Fire Lord snickered a bit, "It's alright, Aang, you don't have to address me as the Fire Lord, well at least if were not in meetings or conferences. Especially if were in front of all the delegates and such, you know how formal things are!"

Aang smiled a bit, Zuko wasn't that bad at all. Before the war, Zuko had been a mortal enemy to Aang and his friends. But with time, he joined them and became part of them. Now, Aang warmly view Zuko as a friend. A good friend.

"Haram guess," said Aang still smiling. "Yeah...I had to come! Come on, you don't think I miss your birthday party? You turning into a man now." Zuko said,"You look good Aang." "Haha, thanks?" Aang said, and to some extent Aang felt pretty confident about himself. He liked the robes he was wearing, a bit too dark for his taste, but not shabby at all.

"Zuko!" came a voice from behind them. It was tall, pale looking lady with a set of robes exactly the same shade as Zuko's. She had a thin frame but she held a bump in her belly, it was quite noticeable she was carrying a child.

"Oh, hi, Mai." Aang said sordidly. "Hello, Avatar." she said quite graciously. Aang was surprised to see Mai Fire Lady very well put together,despite her previous dark years. When he had first met her she seemed cold and very unfriendly,now she seemed almost cheery.

"Happy birthday,Aang." Mai said smiling. "Thank you,Fire Lady." Aang replied,he wasn't comfortable enough to call her by her name.

"So guys are expecting?" Aang said he grabbed some tea from a waiter that passed by. There were many waiters going around,serving out Ginger Tea and other delicacies. Zuko replied,"Yes,Mai's pregnant,again."

That 'again' sounded a bit harsh,ever since Zuko and Mai had married they had tried to concieve a child but with no success. The first couple years Mai never manage to become ,finally, she became pregnant,and lost the child. She had in total three miscarriages,rumors were the last one hit them very strongly because she had been in her final trimestre. It was also said,by the servants,that Mai and Zuko hit a rough patch in their marriage because of this. And they were not certain whether the rough patch was going to end. Aang tried not to pay attention to rumors going around,because then again,they were rumors.

"Well,I'm very glad you're going to be a father,Zuko!" Aang said cheerfully trying to ignore his previous thoughts. Zuko smiled just a bit,enough to hide his true feelings and just enough to seem truthful. "Thank you,Aang." he said.

Zuko grabbed some tea and offered some to his wife,"Do you want some,honey?" "Oh,no thanks,dear,that Ginger tea is a bit too strong for me. I must avoid all strong drinks,doctor's orders. They're bad for the baby." Mai said as matter of fact looking at Aang.

"So,what's up with you Aang?" Zuko said slipping his tea,"any girls around there? Any wedding bells anytime soon?" Aang nearly choke,"No! I mean no,like not anytime soon." "I see," Zuko said quite amused by his answer or maybe he noticed Aang choking.

"Well,you'll find someone one day. Don't worry,fella!" Zuko said almost warmly."I already found her..." Aang thought to himself. He found himself thinking about Katara.

He wondered how she was. He knew Sokka and Katara couldn't make it to his party. Sokka was the chief of the water tribe and a family man,Suki had given him two strong twin boys,he was very busy most of the time. And Katara was the Water Tribe delegate she actually traveled almost as much as Aang however they rarely saw each other. The last time he had seen her had been about a year ago or so,she was very beautiful. Of course,Katara had never stop being beautiful. Always had the bronze skin and bright blue eyes that looked at him the very first time he layed his eyes on her.

She was dating someone back then,he couldn't really recall his name. He never kept track of Katara's suitors,it affected him too much. They talked alot,the whole night in fact,just like the old days. They were best friends,so close. And although Aang had deep feelings for her,he did realized he valued their friendship alot. Katara always gave great advice. And she always listened to his problems.

How he wished she had been here tonight,at least to talk. But he knew Katara was caught up in business back at the South Pole,she had written a letter to him the previous monthly explaining she might not be able to make it to his 22th birthday party. Well,122 birthday party,Aang thought to himself.

Aang felt happy to see all these people here to celebrate him,it was nice to see so many cared about him. As the clock striked 9,everyone put their fire whiskeys up,cortesy of the Fire Lord,himself and said cheerfully,"Happy birthday,Aang," Aang even drank some fire whiskey just to celebrate with them a bit. Alot of Aang's close friends hugged him,many of them were people he had met here in the Earth Kingdom and whom he had made friends with. Although,he missed some of his old friends,he felt relieve to have found some new friends to share this day with.

The party ended promptly around 11 P.M. because it was customed Aang's birthday would officially end. He said goodbye to everyone,the Earth King and Queen whom he would have dinner later to discuss further ados,his Earthbending friends, Fire Lord Zuko who said he would see him at the Red Dragon Festival. He had whispered,"Good luck,Aang." when he hugged him goodbye. This surprised Aang a bit,but he didn't take notice of it.

"Finally." Aang said as he let himself drop to the couch and close his eyes. Although Aang did like parties,he was very tired of everything. He was relieved to not have to talk about politics anymore,eat alot of weird food that was considered "delicous" and put up with his club of fan girls.

"That's it?" Mizaki appeared out of the blue,he had mingled and drank some Fire whiskey with many of his old friends. "Well,yeah,that's it." Aang said quite confused at Mizaki's words. "No,my dear boy..." he said as he sat down. "Say did you get anything good?" Mizaki said,he was referring to the gifts. "Well,I got this really nice set of robes from Zuko and The King and Queen gave me a nice septer..."Aang said. Mizaki laughed a bit and said as he stand up,"Come on,I have better present for you."

Aang looked confused but followed him.


	3. Surprise Part 1

_I loved writing this. Semi-erotic content ahead, you been warned._

_This part one of two:_

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><p>"I don't get it,Mizaki,did you get me new slippers?" Aang asked amusingly. "Oh no,no" Mizaki replied rather quickly. "Even better," he concluded. Mizaki stopped walking,and he turned around to Aang,"I got you the best gift you can get."<p>

"Oh,no you didn't!" Aang said quite loudly,"You got the me the Air bending scrolls I always wanted? How did you get them? I been wanting them forever! Wait until Momo hears about this!" "No,no,no Airbending scrolls." Mizaki said sternly. Aang looked down,he was actually excited about having some piece of the Air Nomads in his hands.

"Aang,have a happy birthday,boy." Mizaki said proudly,"I will see you tomorrow morning." And with that said,Mizaki quickly vanished. "Wait,what about my present?" Aang said as Mizaki walked away. "See you in the morning!" the old man yelled back as he disappeared behind the corridor.

Aang stood there confused in the middle of the dark hallway,Castilla was pretty big. The corridors were seemingly dark but the villa was far from dark. It was always a busy place even late at night. The castle,well villa,was never completely dark.

And that was somehow good since Aang didn't appreciate the darkness.

He decided to continue walking through the empty corridor,it wasn't the brightest one,yet he knew exactly where each door was. Where his room was.

He slowly opened,the door,once he walked in he knew it was his room. It was definitely him. It had bright orangey tones and it had a very calm vibe to it. Whenever he was here,he felt somewhat at home...

"Huh?" Aang said as he looked over at the sofa. A woman stood there.

She was laying there,having her back on him,and although he could hardly look at her face,she seemed to have a very pleasant aura to herself.

She had black,silky ebony hair tied tightly in a bun,in which a golden diadem kept it all in place as if were a sculpture. A light skin the contrasted and at the same time blended in with the white silk dress she dress was long, somehow sparkly and let one shoulder bare while covering the other. Two bright,golden earring dangled in her ears. She seemed like a goddess,infact,Aang would not be surprised if she actually was.

Maybe he was dreaming,yes daydreaming. It wasn't possible a woman this lovely couldn't just be coincendentally laying around his room in the middle of the night.

Aang jerked as she seemed to turn her head but she didn't. Suddenly,the woman thrusted and stood up rushingly.

"I'm very sorry but I can't do is..." she said quickly as she still had the back of her head facing his. She bent over to pick up some clothes on the floor,were they hers? In the midst of everything Aang,didn't want the woman to leave. He didn't know why but he did not want her to leave.

All of the sudden,Aang realized what was going on. Mizaki,he told himself. "That's the girl Mizaki bought",Aang thought,"politics."  
>Aang bet Mizaki had attempted to get the girl to sleep with Aang,for what other reason would she would lay in his couch in the middle of the night,with a sheer night gown? Although the thought bothered him and somewhat angered him,he was too busy focusing on the girl.<p>

"Hey,it's okay..." Aang said benting down to help the girl. "You really don't have to do anyth-..." he was saying when he got a glimpse of her face. And that was it. He was gone. He didn't remember his name,why he was there or anything for that matter.

Her face was beyond beautiful,or perhaps the word beautiful was underestimated. Her face had a heart shape to it,her eyebrows were set perfectly on top of her eyes. And her eyes,her eyes... They were beyond anything he had ever seen. A mixture of pale green with an even balance blue. Her eyes made him tremble and his heart do flips,nothing he had ever expierenced except when he kissed Katara that one time but that was it. And her lips,a fine peachy pink like drawn on and they begged to be kissed.

For that moment they seemed to stare at each other,she too seemed somewhat in awe with him. "You're beautiful," she seemed to whisper. He was bit confused,she was the beautiful one! The most beautiful thing he had ever seen. How was he beautiful in comparision to her? he wondered.

He became a bit amused as she began touching his face,it was something out of the ordinary. "You are so different than I imagined..." she said rather softly still in awe. Of course,everyone became a little starstruck when meeting the Avatar,why would she, such a magnificent creature ,be any a different?

Aang became a little embarassed at the situation,he was a bit uncomfortable to be so closed to girl's face,he hadn't been this close to one since...almost forever. At least that's what he recalled. And never this close to such a beautiful girl. But he didn't want it to stop.

The air seem to be getting a little lighter or was it his nerves? Still,he didn't care all he care was getting closer and closer to her. He was blinded,he was seemingly blinded by everything. He didn't care about anything anymore,he didn't care about Mizaki, parties,his birthday or Katara anymore. Nothing just being with the girl and kissing her. 'Just a kiss',he thought,'just one.'

He leaned closer to her,he could practically smell her breathe. She was so beautiful... The girl seemed to hesitate but then began going along with it. Finally,their lips met. And it was beyond words. He felt happy. That's the only way he could describe it. Aang felt truly happy. It had been a long time since he had felt truly happy.

Kissing her was better than he had expected,he felt he could kiss her forever. Somehow for the rest of his life. He didn't know whether it was love or lust. Or a mixture of both. Of course,Aang had never really expierenced lust,or he thought he hadn't. He knew about love,but not quite lust. Even though now twenty-two,Aang was rather pure for his age

Yet,he was finally understanding what lust meant. As he kissed her soft lips,he melted inside yet at the same time he tingled. He just wanted to keep kissing. And kiss her and keep going. Even he didn't know what he meant but he knew he wanted it.

"Keep going...just her and me." he thought to himself. Suddenly,Aang realized he was laying in his bed with the girl on top. Kissing very passionately. He had no idea how he had got there but he already knew where this was going. He began undressing her and touching her. She was incredibly soft. He let her hair down slowly. Her hair was even softer.

Outside his room the night was very quiet now,finally Aang decided to turn off the lights in his room. There wasn't much anyone needed to see.

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><p><em>oh-la-Aang! <em>

_The reason I can upload these stories so fast is because I wrote them a year ago or so but now I actually edited them and I barely started to upload them here on . But anyway I decided to upload this one because I'm getting super excited for you guys to read more! ^ ^ _

_I'm sorry this was very short, I could of made Surprise all together in one but I decided to keep the suspense coming! Trust me it only get's better from here!_

_Thank you for reading!_

_-Alex_


	4. Surprise Part 2

Aang woke up with sun beaming at his face. It seemed like a very bright morning, of course, Aang didn't know that yet since his eyes still remained close. He tossed a bit, but finally decided to open his eyes.

And it was a bright morning. The sun seemed to be all over the place, his room had become a bit brighter. The sun hit exactly the shades of gold and orange. Aang felt a bit agitated yet very overwhelm with content, but he didn't know exactly why. The bed was much undone, and much to his surprise he realized that someone was missing. Next to him lay a spot that was empty, perhaps it had been a dream? "No, not likely", he thought, "It felt too real."

He Aang began to sit up, when in walked in Naylin with the morning tea. Every single morning, Naylin the housekeeper would come in with Aang's special herbal tea. It was an ancient monk tea made to keep the senses balance, harmony in the body, mind and spirit. It was quite strong and better served hot.

Aang was very confused, "What time is it, Naylin?" "Eight fourteen, why, your highness?" Naylin asked as she brought the tea tray to his bedside. She poured some to empty cup. It was very warm and smelled great to Aang. "Ah, I see." Aang said. "I'm sorry, I didn't come here earlier," Naylin began saying. Since tea for Aang was usually served around 7 A.M. "But Lord Mizaki said you might be busy or something..." she said quite shamefully."Yeah busy," Aang thought to himself.

He began to think whether Mizaki had planned this. "Well it was certainly a present! Aang thought. "Would, your highness, want me to retire so you may dress yourself?" Naylin asked politely. "Dress myself?" Aang was saying curiously when he suddenly realized he was naked. Well nearly, only a thin white sheet covered him from the waist down. He began to panic. "Oh yes, you may go!" Aang said quickly. Naylin stood up, a bit embarrassed. As she walking out the door she said, "OH, what do I tell Miss Katara?"

"Katara?" Aang replied loudly.

Katara stood in the middle of ballroom, not sure where to go. "My,Castilla is pretty big." she said to herself as she walked to empty room. Katara was quite in awe of it,somehow. Even though she had been here once or twice before she never got used to the size of the villa or mansion. So many rooms,wings and gardens. "It's a beautiful place,though," Katara said to herself again.

She was lovely woman,quite youthful for her age yet extremely mature. She had trimmed her brown locks a bit but still let them down. Her eyes were that same bright blue,they had been that same color for years. And she wore strick Water Tribe apparel yet she was dressed in her formal clothes. She was indeed a beautiful girl.

She wondered where the dining room could be? Maybe west or east,she did not know. She had planned to ask the maid who had let her in the house but she rushed somewhere else. It was tough to find assistance in this place,everyone seemed busy.

Katara thought about how Sokka and Suki and how they were doing,she had left them near the villa as they stopped by the stores to buy some is probably bargaining or something,Katara thought.

Katara continued walking when she spotted a girl in the middle of the corridor. She was of white skin and had long ebony locks,she seemed sort of dazed and confused. She was also wearing some splendid set of robes. They were a seagreen with some gold on it,it was a bit fancy for a maid. But the one thing Katara couldn't help notice was just how lovely she was. She was extremely beautiful. She was perhaps the most beautiful maid Katara had ever seen.

The girl seemed to mutter something as she spotted Katara. Her pale green eyes grew wide and stare of amazement seemed to sweep her.

"Hi," Katara said nicely,"Do you happen to know where the Dining room is?" "Oh,ah,I don't know." the girl replied quite awkardly. "I kind of have to go that way..." and as she said the girl ran off to some other direction.

"Maids really have to go off,here." Katara said to herself. She also thought that was the loveliest uniform she had ever seen.

The girl with the set of green and gold robes trailed across the hall. She honestly did not know where she was going or where she wanted to go. She was kind of anxious almost panicking. She had seen her,"wow,Katara is sure pretty,"she thought. She finally arrived at the dining room. "So here is the dining room." she said to herself.

An old lady walked in,"Hello,can I help you?" she said. The girl said quite quickly,"Ah...Um,yes,I'm hungry. I want some...toast. Yes I would like some toast."

"Toast? Well sure come in to the kitchen,honey." the old lady said warmly.

The girl walked into the kitchen slowly,it was awfully big. The women were chopping,frying,stirring and baking,they all seemed busy. The old lady sat her down and gave her some toast and some honey. The girl began to look at it for awhile,she loved looking at things. Just the fact the fact to see the colors and shades was amazing to her. She noticed that everyone seemed to look at her,especially the old lady. "Umm,what's wrong?" the girl asked curiously. "Nothing," the old lady said,"You're very pretty you know that?" "Yes,I know that..." the girl replied taking a hard bite of her toast.

Aang walked quickly through the hallways,he was in haze. He wasn't sure whether he was looking for Katara or the girl,if she was even still here.

"Aang!" a girl yelled out. Aang turned around to see Katara running up to him. She gave him a big,long hug. He had grown a bit taller,taller than last time they hugged. He was very happy to see her,just to see her alive and happy. "Katara," he said,"what are you doing here? They just told me you arrived earlier this morning." "Yes I did," she said letting him go. "But Aang,you really think I would miss your birthday? I mean,I know it was yesterday,but I still managed to be here today to congratulate you!" Katara said quite cheerfully.

"I'm your friend,Aang,I'm always going to be here for you." she concluded giving him another tight hug. Aang smiled. Katara truly made him happy. "Well,of course,it's not just me...Sokka and Suki came along." Katara said smiling. "Sokka is here?" Aang was very excited it had been awhile since he last saw or heard of Sokka. Suki usually came by the Earth Kingdom usually to check up on her family,she always came by to visit Aang.

"Yes,but it seems they got a bit distracted in the bazaar." Katara said amusingly,"you know how Sokka is." Aang smiled,he knew how Sokka was. Just how crazy,unpredictable and funny he was. He really missed his jokes...

"Anyway,I'm starving,I been trying to find the dining room!" Katara said. "Really? Why?" Aang asked quickly. "Because silly,we came here to have breakfast with you! As your after-party breakfast birthday party or something. Well that's what Sokka said." she said.

"Oh of course,it's this way." Aang said a bit more relaxed. It was nice to see some familar faces.

They made their way into the spacious dining room,it was long brown table very simple but at the same time quite luxurious. The room had a fancy air to it all.

Katara managed to sit herself as Aang pull the chair slowly. "Thanks," she mumbled. "Your welcome," he replied.

An old lady walked in with some toast. "Would you start serving breakfast,Uyen?" Aang said politely. "Why yes,your highness!" Uyen replied graciously. "Your highness?" Katara snickered. "Yeah,that's how they address me.." he said a bit embarassed. Aang looked down on the empty seats then he added, "Oh and put some more places,we're having company. Two more friends are on their way."

"Yes,your highness! Five seats in total," Uyen said as she trailed back to the kitchen leaving the two alone in the empty room.

Katara and Aang stood a moment smiling at each other,they had sure missed each other. Aang a bit more than her. "So how have you been?" Aang asked Katara,but before she could answer they heard the doorbell.

"I'll get it!" said Ping,one of the door men.

"Aaaang!" a wild yell came from outside the dining room. Aang immediately know who it was. "Sokkaaa!" Aang said loudly and happily. The tall bronze man was very muscular yet his face kept that funny look,which signified his wacky sense of humor. By his side,stood,a tall,beautiful woman with brown hair and sparkly eyes,"Suki!," Aang said happily.

Sokka hugged Aang warmly,he didn't seem to let go. "Sokka...you're squishing me." Aang managed to say. "Oh,I'm sorry,Aang,you airhead Avatar!" he said rather playfully. "Aang,how you been?" Suki said giving Aang a quick hug. "Good,rather good," he replied.

"And you guys?" Aang asked. "We've been wonderful." Suki said cheerfully. "Yeah,Aang,you should of seen the things they got out there in the bazaar,there some weird firecrackers and wolf-unicorn armors..." Sokka was saying as Suki interrupted.

"Toph?" she said happily.

Everyone turned around to see who she was talking to.

In the middle of the door way stood that same beautiful girl Katara was seen with loveliest robes she had ever seen. The same girl,Aang met yesterday,with the dark ebony long hair and beautiful green eyes. She was holding a plate with two toasted breads.

Everyone stood there perplexed,as Suki asked ,"What are you doing here?"

"Oh,I'm just here for...the toast." the girl replied.

* * *

><p>I hope you guys like toast,and this chapter!<p>

Reviews are always nice,xxxx


	5. No Love Required

For moment Aang felt last night's tea go to his mouth. He felt dizzy,he was beyond confused. Everyone seemed to be the same way,Sokka who was always talking stood there quiet. Katara mouth was wide open.

Suki was the only one who went over and gave the girl a quick hug,"You have gotten so much prettier!" she said to Toph very sweetly.

The girl smiled a bit.

"Toph? You can't be Toph,you're so...different and all pretty." Katara said awestruck,she felt a bit bad for calling the old Toph ugly. "And you can see!" Katara continued while looking at her face and her eyes,her eyes,pale green yet managed to see everything.

"Ah,yes,I can see everything. I can see you Sweetness,standing there with your mouth wide open." Toph replied. "It's me!" the girl continued. "You know,the blind bandit,The greatest Earthbender of the world! Well not so blind anymore but I'm still waaay better than all the morons out there."

Finally,Sokka who had been standing there for minutes perplexed,said something,"You can't be Toph!"

"It is me ,Snozzles! Or do I need to punch you hard in the face for you to realize that?" the girl smirked. That smirk,that Toph smirk,it was her everyone realized. It was painful to Aang to admit only Toph could make that smirk.

"Toph!" Katara shouted as she ran and leaped to Toph to hug her.

"You are so pretty!" she squealed as she held Toph tight. "Hey,it's okay,Katara,I'm here...yeah we all know that." Toph said trying to push her away but she was helpless to Katara's warm embrace.

"Aang,look at her,hasn't she gotten so pretty?" Katara said happily.

"Yeah she's very pretty," Aang said looking down. He already knew how pretty she could be.

"Toph!" Sokka said approaching her cheerfully,"how you been?" The girl smiled a bit,"Um,I been better,but I'm good." Uyen interrupted as he came into the diner,"Breakfast is served!"

"Are you going to join us to eat or what?" Katara said quickly. "Umm,yeah,I guess I have to." Toph replied.

They all were seated,however Uyen extended the chair next to Aang for Toph. "Ah,thanks." she said quite sincerely.

"So Toph,what are you doing here?" Katara said smiling. "Oh,me? I...I..I came here for Aang's birthday party! Yeah,I did. It was an amazing party,lots of fire whiskey and dancing,real nice." Toph responded somehow fast. "But why are you here so early? And in those robes?" Katara asked again amusingly, while taking a bite of some warm biscuits sat on the table. "Ooh,well it was late,and I just couldn't afford to travel by myself that late at night. So Aang what kind enough to spare me a room...right,Aang?" Toph said gritting her teeth.

Aang,however,was emersed in his thoughts,"NO. IT CAN'T BE HER! TOPH CAN'T BE THE GIRL...I MEAN NO,I DID NOT SLEEP WITH..."

"Aang!"

"What?" he said rather jumpy.

"Weren't you nice enough to let me stay at your palace,house or whatever for the night?" she asked him once more.

"Ah,right." Aang said quickly.

"Oh,that's nice of Aang,always caring for his friends." Katara said smiling. "Oh,yeah he's real nice." Toph added. For a while,everyone was quiet ,except for Sokka who was stuffing himself with whatever he could find.

"So...how come you can see now? I mean what happened?" Katara said trying to break the ice. And really it was the question everyone was dying to ask. Aang wondered that too, but his thoughts were flooded with guilt at the moment.

"Ah,it's a long story. Well my parents met this guru woman or something who was supposed to create miracles. And well she takes me to this weird,swamp place and after saying a bunch of gibberish... I open my eyes and I can see!" Toph said in-matter-of-fact tone, " It was really something out of the ordinary."

Katara looked at Toph concerned, somehow she didn't exactly buy it. She was happy Toph could now seem and seemed much happier now. But still, Katara's intuition told her that Toph was hiding something. Katara didn't want to ask, she figured she'd tell them eventually. But now wasn't the time.

"I don't know how the crazy old lady did it,but hey, she knows her stuff!" she exclaimed as she took a bite of her bread.

Everyone could agree it was the same old Toph,even though her soft,enchanting appearance.

"But it's crazy…" Sokka said with his mouth full, "you look so different and now you can see, wow, it's amazing how people can change over the years. I mean when's the last time we saw you?"

"Um, I think it was before Aang and Katara cancelled their engagement." Toph said abruptly. Katara seemed to hold her breathe for a second there,but let go as she looked over at Aang. Toph's statement had no impact on him, he seemed immersed in his own thinking. But then again that was always Aang, Katara thought as a slight blush went to her face.

Sokka continued as he balanced two turkey legs on each hand,"I don't get how did Suki recognize you?"

"I told you I saw Toph last time,remember?" Suki replied.

"I don't recall you saying anything…" Sokka was saying when Suki gave a quick bang in the head.

"I told you last time! Did I not tell you when I went to visit Kyoshi Island I ran into Toph there? Did I not tell you how pretty she was and how she was not blind anymore? DID I NOT TELL YOU THAT,SOKKA?" Suki said loudly.

"You must of told me over dinner-" Sokka replied weakly.

"Ha, everything's over dinner to you!" Suki said dryly.

"Hey,you can't blame me! Hello, Sokka, Water Tribe Chief,father of two boys and devoted husband, my life's hard! It takes me a while to process non-informational information." Sokka said while he took another bite of his turkey leg.

"WHY YOU-" Suki said grinning her teeth. Katara laughed at Suki's reaction. It seemed Sokka and Suki never stopped going.

One of the maid came in and served Toph some hot soup,"There,your highness." she said. Katara,even Sokka and Suki stared at Toph,"Your highness? I thought they only called you that,Aang" Katara exclaimed.

"Yeah,I've only been here for a day and they're already starting to treat me like Aang. They're so nice" Toph said quickly. Aang had to admit she was a witty and natural liar.

Although everyone was eating and chatting,Aang stood there quiet,lost in his thoughts. He was overally concerned,naturally. He had just had intimacy with Toph,one of his friend. HIS TEACHER! "I know her since I was 12," he thought. He was mentally freaking out,although they had fool everyone so far. HOW LONG WOULD THIS CHARADE LAST? HOW COULD HE HAVE BEEN SO STUPID,SO WRECKLESS...

"Aang is everything alright?" Katara asked. "Ah,yeah,I'm fine. Why shouldn't I be fine?" Aang replied nervously. "Okay,you just seem a little spaced out." Katara said calmly.

"Ha! That's a good one! Aang's always spaced out, he's an airhead,remember,Katara?" Sokka said snickering.

How Aang missed Sokka's puns. He missed that goofball sense of humor of Sokka's. How he wished he could sit there and listen to Sokka's jokes for hours,as stupid as they were.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying the food,especially Sokka. He exclaimed how it was better than anything they had in the South Pole. This remark caused Suki to hit him again.

Katara casually talked about some business concerning the water tribe. Sokka mentioned his duties as Chief and how responsible he was. Suki interrupted him once again and shared a story of when he took the boys on a fishing trip. Apparently what Sokka mistook for a defenseless whale turned out to be a shark. To make the story short,the boys didn't want to go the sea for a month.

"So what do you get last night,Aang?" Katara asked abruptly. "What?" Aang replied almost choking. He felt a hard kick under the table,Toph's green eyes looked at him sharply. "Last night,your birthday party? Presents?" Katara asked again,Aang was acting very odd she thought.

Aang snapped out of his trance and quickly responded almost naturally,"Ah,yes, a got a ton of good presents. I got this really cool golden septer from the royal family and this book from..." As he spoke,the doors of the diner slapped open and in came Mizaki and Ozzy walking quite cheerfully.

"Oh,boy and did get good present from my behalf." Mizaki interrupted him winking slyly. Aang gulped,PLEASE DONT SAY ANY-THING,he thought.

"Hello Mizaki,good morning." Katara said politely. Mizaki smiled, "Good morning,Katara,Suki and Sokko? Sokka?"

"It's Water Tribe chief Sokka,to you!" Sokka said proudly and bit sarcasticly. "Well alright,Mr. Water Tribe chief Sokka." Mizaki said looking away.

"Good morning,Toph." Mizaki said smiling at her.

"Hi." she replied dryly.

"How do you know,Toph?" Katara asked curiously.

"You guys know her?" Mizaki asked surprised.

"Toph,remember the blind girl who traveled with us and taught me Earthbending I told you about? Yeah,that's Toph here. The Toph girl you met in your trip a few days ago..." Aang said hysterically.

"You know her?" Mizaki asked.

Both Aang and Toph nodded.

"Awkward." Mizaki said in shock.

"Very awkward." Ozzy repeated.

"So yeah..." Toph was saying,"Can I have more toast?"

* * *

><p>"Alright,guys thanks for coming!" Aang was saying as he excused everybody out the door.<p>

"Thank YOU,Aang for the food and drinks!" Sokka said cheerfully,"I only wish Suki could cook that good..." he managed to mumble.

"What did you say,honey?" Suki said pinching Sokka.

"Nothing,love of my life!" Sokka said planting her a big kiss and hugging her.

Katara smiled at them," Thanks for everything,Aang." she said giving Aang a quick hug. He blushed and he could almost feel the butterflies in the stomach.

"Well,I'll be seeing you pretty soon in today's meeting and you'll be going to the Red Dragon Festival,right?" Katara said while she made her way through the door.

"Ah,yeah,I'll be there. I kinda have to be there,you know?" Aang said brushing off the butterflies.

"And how about you,Toph?" Katara asked.

"Well...Yeah,you know. I got to get back to my parents and stuff. I mean Aang was soo nice enough to let me stay in his house whatever for the night..." she replied.

"I don't think she'll make..." Aang was saying when another sharp kick interrupted.

" I'll be there." Toph concluded smiling.

Katara smiled,"Well,I'll be seeing you,too! I really want to talk to you more,Toph."

"I'll see you both soon! Bye!" she finally said happily.

"Bye!" Toph and Aang said in unison.

And without hestation Aang closed the door.

* * *

><p>"Okay,so who are you really?" Aang asked the girl who had accompanied him last night.<p>

"What?" the girl asked annoyingly.

"They might have bought the whole swamp 'magic' story but I'm not!" Aang said sharply.

"You must of gone completely stupid in these past couples of years or all the air has gone to your head." she replied.

"Look, if you're here for the money, I got some, but what happened to the real Toph Bei Fong?" Aang said in a serious tone.

"I'm Toph,you idiot!" she replied angrily.

"No,you're not." he said.

"Yes,I am." she said again.

"No,you're not." he replied in disbelief.

"Wow, nothing gets past you, Avatar Aang. But do you really want to argue with me?" she said. "You know, I'm very good at making my point." She added.

All of the sudden the earth under Aang's feet started shaking. He lost his balance fell to the floor. His face hit the ground quite hard. The girl let out a loud snort,"Stil too light on your feet,huh,twinkletoes!"

"Oh Spirits, YOU ARE TOPH!" Aang yelled as he picked himself up from the floor.

"No,really?" Toph replied sarcastically.

"But,I don't understand,how,WHY?' Aang was saying.

"Welcome to my world! That makes two of us!" she said tossing her arms up in the air.

"Wait,HOW? I mean why..." 'Did you sleep with me?' he wanted to say. But no,he was a bit too shy to say such a thing to her,afterall she was Toph...now anyway.

"Why DID YOU MESS WITH ME?" he finally blurted out.

"Wait a minute,hold your horses,YOU MESSED AROUND WITH ME." Toph replied boldly.

"What ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? YOU KNEW IT WAS ME!" Aang said loudly. "I mean you're not even blind now,so you can't use that as an excuse!" he added angrily.

Toph seemed to quiet down a little,"Well,I knew it was you! From the moment I heard your footsteps. Twinkletoes! I thought. And you can't really blame me for everything that happened! I mean it was just another day,I was walking around the town,minding my own business when all of the sudden and guy shows up at my house,telling my parent that I'm that most beautiful girl he's ever seen and he wanted me for his master,blah blah. And how it would be the highest honor ever,blah blah blah. My parents bought it,anyhow. And yep,I was shipped and packed over here. Am I still not the victim here?"

Aang gave her a silent stare. Toph continued looking around the mansion,"I was blindfolded all the way,I felt like I was blind again inclusively. I was unfolded until arrived at your room,I didn't even know you resided in such a fancy place!"

"Wow,you sure,don't waste time,Twinkletoes,this looks like a palace!" she exclaimed.

"Anyway," Toph said,"I was dressed into these luxurious clothes and then I was told to wait there. And I was actually planning on escaping or earthbending my way out. Or, in worst case scenario, permanently injuring the idiot who wanted to make me his wife. But then you showed up and then,I was just in shock of actually SEEING YOU. You know,you all bald with your robes and gray eyes,it was a bit overwhelming..."

Aang remembered she had said,"You're beautiful."

"Anyway,one thing let to another and that's how I ended up here. It's not something I'm proud of,but hey it happens." she concluded seating herself in the couch.

"That's it? 'Hey it happens'?" Aang said wildly. He was almost yelling. "And you just sit there all relaxed?" Aang yelled. "Yup." Toph answered quickly. "Are you not worried at all of the recupercusions, if someone found out. If Sokka,Suki or even,Katara found out?" Aang continued yelling.

"Nope" she answered dryly. "The thing is I never worry." Toph said giving him a half smile.

Aang couldn't help and notice how majestic she was,her long sleek black hair and in her seagreen robes. She would only be so breathtaking if he wasn't so furious. Even seductive,if she had wished to,she could of made him repeat the same mistake from last night... Thank heavens,it was Toph,her normal self.

They were interrupted by Mizaki who came in rushing with Ozzy,"So she's your friend?" Mizaki asked Aang. "Yep." Aang said bitterly. "I'm sorry,Aang,I had no idea!" Mizaki apologized.

"Well,now you know! Is there any possibility you can undo this whole arrangement please?" Aang pleaded.

"I'm afraid not." Mizaki said slowly.

"WHY NOT?" both Toph and Aang asked.

"Well, if you wanted a refund you should of thought about that 16 hours ago." Mizaki said naturally.

Aang shaked his hand,"What do you mean by that?"

"It means," Ozzy interrupted,"that you can't return the lady to her parents now,in these conditions..."

"Oh,great," Toph said rolling her eyes. "Deflowerment, big woop" she added.

"Yes,and by the way,Aang it's not like you can do nothing much either." Mizaki stated.

Aang looked down,"No,I cannot."

"What does he mean?" Toph asked curiously.

"In the Monk rules,once a monk commits to get married or to a woman he commits for life." Mizaki said as he poured himself some tea.

"So basically," Aang continued,"if I want to get marry or have sex,I can only do that with one woman. It means I can only have intimacy with you,if I violate that rule then I am no longer a monk. Promiscousity is not tolerated."

"So,it's not so much my fault either,you slept with a total stranger. At least I slept with my friend," Toph said sarcastically. Aang gave her a sharp stare, she was really starting to get on his nerves .

"And you knew there were consequences. I mean were you really planning to spend the rest of your life with someone you just met?" Toph added humorously.

"It was a different situation,okay?" Aang responded angrily.

They both stared silently at each other,Aang could tell Toph had already some repressed feelings against him. And he had some repressed feelings against her,too. Something also told him,she might attempt to kill him,but that was just an idea.

Mizaki drank some tea,"Oh cheer up,lads! You guys were friends,right? Then you guys shouldn't have trouble being married! It's all about politics and agreements."

Mizaki bit his lip and added,"No love required,trust me."

* * *

><p>TA-DAH! I hope you guys liked it and I hope it explained a little more for you guys! I know several of you messaged me because you were confused with the story so far. Anyway, I hope these definitely made the waters a bit less murky, and yes there's more to Toph's eyesight. And yes there is a magical swamp. HMM.<p>

Haha, anyways, if you have anymore questions or comments, don't be afraid to mssg me! 3

I love if you leave reviews of any sort! It's been wonderful so far, hope you spread the word about my story!

-Alex


	6. Friends and Enemies

"Marriage? We're not getting married!" Aang said almost yelling.

"Well, not right now!" Mizaki argued while put his empty cup of tea aside.

"Perhaps a near future, a future engagement. Months from now, of course!" Mizaki said reluctantly.

"That's it." Toph said loudly.

She grabbed a bottle of leftover fire whiskey from the table. She poured herself a flooded cup of fire whiskey. She quickly gulped down.

"You drink?" Aang asked horrified.

"Hey, nothing tastes better than some _good_ fire whiskey in the morning. Helps me every time," said Toph in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Actually, now that I think about it, I'll have a drink." Mizaki said thoughtfully.

"What? You can't just agree with her!" Aang yelled.

"Why not? She's right. Fire whiskey is an old Fire Nation tradition that really wakes you up in the morning. You might want to drink up, young Avatar," Mizaki said, "it's going to be a loooong day."

"You said it," Toph said walking out of the living room.

Aang stood there perplexed. Alot was going on. On one hand, Mizaki was drinking Fire whiskey with a non-blind Toph. On the other hand, there was the non-blind Toph. On _another_ hand, he had slept with her. And another other hand, he had meeting with the Union later today which could lead to chaos. And to top it all off, he knew he couldn't get let_ anyone _find out about this. And anyone meant Katara.

While his thoughts railed off, he noticed Toph had walked out the door into the front yard.

"Wait, where are you going?" Aang said rushing towards her.

"Away from you aren't that obvious?" she said quickly.

"Why?" Aang asked.

"Why would I want to stay talk about things? I'm starting to get real bored!" Toph said sharply.

"Bored? You're worried about being bored!" Aang replied, his patience was running thin.

"We have this situation, and the only thing that happens to concern you apparently is the fact you are bored?" Aang asked running out of breathe.

"Well, what else is there to talk about really, Aang?" Toph said annoyed. She looked towards her left and she saw some servants staring at them. All the commotion was making the servants wonder what was really going on in Castilla. Rumors were sure to spread. Like she cared. Aang might but she didn't.

Toph sighed.

"Look, it happened, it's over now, okay? I'm going to go now because I really don't want to be here." Toph said rather quietly. She didn't want anyone else hearing their conversation.

But Aang wasn't buying it. He was flustered, and he wasn't sure if it was about the meeting with Union or his current situation with Toph.

"Go now? Have you seen what you're wearing? You can't go out into the streets like that!" Aang said loudly.

The rumors were some of the things he was thinking about. "The Avatar's Mistress." "The Avatar's Wild Birthday Night" was some of the headlines that came into his mind. He couldn't afford for his reputation to be stained, too much was going on in the Union for another scandal.

Toph gave Aang a quick glance, she was tired of him and she was furious at him.

"Listen, Aang, I know that since now you're the great powerful Avatar you think you can just dictate people's lives. Well think again, you jerk!" Toph said angrily, "I have always been doing what I want for a while and I'm not going to stop just because it'll ruin your stinking reputation! And yes I'm fully aware of what I'm wearing, I'm not blind anymore, 'member?"

She gave Aang a quick smirk and she continued walking towards the gate.

"That's it! I tried reasoning with you, but you just won't have it will you? Don't you care about _anything_?" Aang said now yelling.

All servants stared in amazement they had never seen the Avatar so angry; he was always a good cheery fellow with a great sense of humor. But that was not certainly this Avatar right now. He seemed very agitated and upset.

"You airhead, you think you know me, you think you know my life? Well I'm sorry I don't live up to your expectations of greatness!" Toph yelled back. She had pure anger in her face, an expression he recognized.

"In fact, the truth is you don't even know my life! None of you guys do! The last time you ever saw me was when you broke up with Sugar Queen, and that, as everyone else who lives in the Earth Kingdom knows, was ages ago!" Toph yelled it all in one single breathe.

Something in Toph's awful truth struck Aang painfully. Whether it was Katara or the guilt of abandoning Toph.

Toph saw Aang's guilt, but she had more. She had been waiting for so long to release this.

"You guys forgot about!" Toph said as her voice cracked. Tears swelled up her eyes, but she didn't cry. No, she couldn't.

"You guys never visited or wrote, Katara wrote once or twice, always talking about her life, she'd never really asked about me. Except once or twice out of politeness, I suppose. And you, the last time you wrote to me was on my seventeenth birthday, which was five years ago and you even send it to me a month late…" Toph said painfully.

She took a breathe and finished, "You all had something going on your lives and I get that, that's fine, I had my own life to settle, too. But don't you dare go around making assumptions about me, Aang, because you actually don't know _anything_ about me!"

Aang stood quiet. He didn't really know what to say, in fact there was nothing he could say. Nothing could make up for those years of forgotten friendship. He just stood there quiet with his face down.

The servants all did the same, except they were staring directly at Aang and Toph both who had finally quit yelling.

Mizaki walked through the group of servants surrounding Aang and Toph. "Alright, back to work everybody, there's nothing to see!" he said sternly pushing them aside. Oozy continued," Okay everybody back to work, no problems here, shoo!"

Mizaki gave a sigh and added,"Aang, we must get going, the meeting starts at 11 and you're going to be late."

He looked at Aang and Toph with a stern expression, "These are hard times for both of you, but there are bigger things to be taken care of."

Aang nodded and he looked back at Toph. "I'm sorry about everything, I really Am." he said sincerely. And at once Toph knew he was truthful, it was that same Aang's voice she once knew. Always so calm and sure of him, even though half the world had been ending at the time, Aang knew it would be okay. He believed it so much than even at times she would believe it, too. Now she didn't know what to believe but she knew this was not the time or place to find out.

Toph gave a heavy sigh.

"I'm going to go out get some fresh air because this place and you are very, very suffocating. And I do not want to be stuck here with a bunch of people watching my every move; it's my parent's house all over again." Toph said calmly looking at the dispersed servants who were still discreetly watching them.

"I'm going to go but I'll be back. Okay?" Toph added looking at Aang with a bit of pain.

She turned over to Mizaki and said once again, "Okay?"

Mizaki nodded silently and added," That'll be alright."

* * *

><p>The hazy sun was now almost all the way over Ba Sing Se. The noisy streets was nothing compared the event that was about to go down in the King's Court.<p>

It wasn't merely a court, but rather a large building that held various rooms. One particular room, and also the largest, assembled the Union meetings. The Union was a league created by Avatar Aang that consisted of representatives from the four nations who'd come in a place of peace to talk about world and legal issues.

"Come in peace, yeah right", Aang thought as he sat in his seat. Zhing, the Earth Kingdom delegate and also the King's distant cousin, was speaking, or yelling actually, about the current border problems between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. Ever since the war had ended, various Fire Nation taken land were still to be given back to the Earth Kingdom. However, the Fire Nation's delegate, Nakoto, argued the land had previously belonged to the Fire Nation before the war.

Nakoto had called Zhing's allegations "Erroneous" and "Uncredible". Zhing replied by calling Nakoto "a skimpy woman who'd lack any political criteria". And that was last meeting.

This meeting, however, the never-ending debate continued with Nakoto and Zhing attacking each other.

"So, Minister Zhing, you really expect the Fire Nation to give up land that we rightfully owned even before previous war engagements?" Nakoto asked frivolously. She was a slender, cold woman with long brunette hair and feisty eyes. She had a calm voice that could rise sharply when called for.

"I am simply asking for what belongs to our Kingdom!" Zhing replied dignity. Zhing was a meticulous man with a thin mustache and nervous fingers. He was very intelligent but had no sense of humor and was easily offended.

Aang looked around the room; everyone else was silent and paying attention to the discussion. Except for Katara, the Water Delegate, who managed to make eye contact with Aang and give him a slight smile. Aang's stomach flipped quickly, he quickly turn his attention back to Nakoto who was about to speak.

"So tell me, Minister Zhing," said Nakoto, rising from her seat, "who are the providers of such information?"

"Providers? Ha!" Zhing answered sharply. "Half the isla of Gerung are made up of Earth Kingdom people, and their family and ancestors can, in fact, confirm that generations of Earth Benders and such have dwelled there for more than centuries!" Zhing concluded.

Nakoto walked around her seat and said coldly, "I see…"

She paused and looked up. The whole court went silent, Nakoto was a woman of sharp words whom many feared to ever have an argument with. Aang knew this quite well.

"Minister Zhing, you say half of Isla of Gerung is Earth Kingdom people, right?" Nakoto asked.

"Yes, I am" Zhing said proudly.

"So it would be accurate for me to assume, the other half is Fire Nation people?" Nakoto asked.

"Why, I suppose so…" Zhing was saying. "Then wouldn't you suppose these other half of people have their own family history and lineage?" Nakoto asked rising her voice slightly.

"It would be so." Zhing said quietly.

"Then, how can be judge who is more deserving of this Isla of Gerung?" Nakoto asked loudly.

The court stirred. Murmurs both attacked and praised Nakoto. Aang had an uneasy feeling; he knew things could get ugly. He knew things could get _bad_.

Nakoto seemed pleased with the court's reaction. "Should we judge its people or its current government?" Nakoto continued.

"As you all know, the Isla of Gerung is currently in control of the Fire Nation and in absence of Fire Lord, Zuko, who busy attending other affairs, we have always cared and appreciated Isla of Gerung's people." Nakoto said proudly.

"Now, for years the Earth Kingdom people have not complained about our current government over them. It is safe to assume they are happy and do not need no service of the Earth King." She concluded looking sharply in the eyes of Zhing, whose face was becoming red.

Nakoto's comment caused even more revolt around the court. The Earth Kingdom did not tolerate anyone to speak ill or deny the Earth King.

Zhing rose up violently from his seat, shockingly most onlookers. Even Aang.

"How dare you insult the mighty and powerful Earth King?" Zhing yelled out furiously.

"I am not insulting the Earth King in any way! "Said Nakoto, whose voice had risen significantly.

She glared at Zhing and added," I am simply implying that the earth people in Isla of Gerung are more than content with the current government."

"How would you know?" Zhing snapped back in anger, "do you speak for the earth people?"

"No, I suppose I do not." Nakoto said bitterly.

"Then? Do not tell me what the people want, I'll represent my people and you represent yours!" Zhing said angrily.

The court became more stirred. Ministers and delegates began to argue with each other. Aang decided it was enough fighting for one day.

"Enough!" Aang said rising from his chair. Aang added, "Minister Zhing, Lady Nakoto, I think it's enough debate on the Isla of Gerung."

The court quieted down. Both Nakoto and Zhing turned their looks away from Aang.

"Lady Nakoto, if you don't mind I think this Isla of Gerung problem should be discussed with Lord Zuko, himself."Aang said.

Nakoto's expression went sour. She gritted her teeth as she said, "yes, Avatar."

"As for you Minister Zhing, I understand this land is of the Earth Kingdom's concern, but it is currently under the control of the Fire Nation and any further objections should be dealt with them and not the Earth King." Aang said calmly.

Minister Zhing wiped the sweat from his face and agreed quietly, "yes, Avatar Aang."

"Now, Minister Tao, could you proceed with the announcements of the day?" Aang said addressing a tall, slim man who was holding a set of scrolls.

"Yes, Avatar." Tao replied.

Aang gave a sigh as he collapsed into his chair. This was just another council meeting, always problems, always drama, always conflicts. He thought peace would automatically come after the war, but boy was he wrong! Peace has never been harder to achieve. Peace was a word the Union no longer knows. So many conflicts of interests had indeed torn the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation relationship. Aang represented the Air Nomads, so no conflict there. Katara represented the Water Tribe and they, too, never had many issues. It was mostly the Earth kingdom and the Fire Nation going at it.

Aang had tried to ignore the conflict before; he thought it was only temporary. But things seem to be getting worst.

As Nakoto turned around to take her seat she looked over at Aang and said softly, "I don't think the Fire Lord will be able to solve this problem."

Aang prayed to the spirits the Fire Lord would solve this problem. Or else he felt a war might begin to linger.

* * *

><p><em>Here's chapter six, sorry for the long wait you guys, I finished earlier today but I couldn't upload it,GRRRR!<em>

_So things aren't so cheery at all for the Gaang. And things are about to get more tangled. -_-_

_On a side note, thank you for all the reviews and YOU for taking time to read this and enjoy this story. __Like always leaving comments and reviews is soo much appreciated._

_-Alex_


	7. The Bandit's Tale

She heard a sharp noise. Then nothing at all.

Then she heard a voice,"_Open your eyes the world needs you awake_."

So she did, Toph slowly opened her eyes. And she _saw_. That was the problem is that she _saw._ She saw everything.

She had never seen. She entered into panic mode. Not only was she covered in mud, laying helplessly on the ground, but the fact she never seen it anything like it. Although such a simple place as a swamp might not shock many, Toph had never seen at swamp at all.

She began to cry. Then she began to sob. She couldn't understand any of it. As her eyes moved quickly across her surroundings. Everything was so odd, so different, and so strange. She felt like an alien who had just crash on a new planet. She was frightened and at the same time thrilled.

She her hands sunk deeper in the mud, she wondered what color it was. She wondered what color were the trees, what color made up this strange place. And then she cried harder. _The colors_, she wondered_. I wonder what color is, which is yellow, which is blue, which is green…_ she thought. A disturbing thought filled her head, what is this was dream? A beautiful dream, or perhaps a nightmare, in which she could see everything, where she would wake up and discover it was not real? That would be cruel.

If she woke up, she wondered. If she woke up and everything was a dream, she thought as warm tears streamed down her face. And if it was a dream she credited she had a very unique imagination. She continued to sob at the thought of it.

Then she heard a noise. A loud noise like a motor of some sort. She stopped sobbing and she looked around her. At the end of the stream, approached a small boat or she assumed it was a boat. She most certainly did not know what a boat looked like. But it sounded like a boat and it _felt _like a boat. As the boat approached, Toph noticed two odd figures on the boat.

One was rather large and a darker shade, while the other was smaller and of a lighter tone. They had a quirky appearance and rags covered them. Toph wondered what who this humanoid figures could be. Their boat stopped in front of her. "Hey lady, are you alright?" yelled out the smaller one. Toph did not reply, she was too busy examining his appearance.

The smaller one turns to his friend and mumbled something. Then he turned back to Toph, "I said if you alright?" Toph did not know what to say. She wondered if she could still speak, perhaps she had gained eyesight but she had lost her voice. She couldn't tell because she had not tried to speak.

"_Where am I_?" she managed to blurt out weakly.

"Ha, I told she wasn't crazy, she's just lost," the smaller figure said to his large friend_. Crazy?_ she thought. Why would they think that? Then Toph realized half her arms were covered in thick swam mud and her face was wet from all the crying, she definitely had the crazy look nailed down.

The smaller figure spoke to her kindly, "You are in the swamp, girlie. You must have fallen off a boat or something." Toph shook her head not understanding any of it. "I…I…I don't know," she said softly. The large figure said something to the smaller figure. The smaller figure spoke, "here we'll take you home, hop on." The boat pulled closer where Toph was sitting. "Here, watch your steps." Said the larger figure in a warm voice.

Toph was dazed but managed to stand up, she noticed her legs where covered in mud. She slowly stepped on the boat, she definitely feel the difference of the hard boat versus the soft ground. "Oh, how rude of me," said the smaller figure turning around, "my name's Nip." Then he turned around to his friend, "This is Tuck." The large figure waved weakly. Toph waved back. "What's yours?" asked the small man. "Uh, Toph, Toph Bei Fong," she replied. "Ha, weird name!" Nip said loudly.

As Toph began to nudge off the mud from her legs, she noticed how similar her legs were to Nip's and Tuck's. She also noticed her arms, still muddy, were similar to them. Toph became to come to the realization that perhaps they, too, were like her. _Is this how people look like?_ she thought. Most importantly how did she look like?

"Are you guys men?" she asked curiously. "Yep, only the manliest of the manly." Nip said proudly while steering the tiny boat. Tuck let out a roar of laughter. "Yeah, Nip's manly, alright," Tuck said snickering. "Shut up, you're the one to talk, Mr. I'm-Too-Tired-To-Steer-The-Boat!" Nip said loudly. They both began to argue. _Yep, this is definitely human behavior_, Toph thought.

As she looked down the mud in her feet, she began to ponder. "What color is this?" she blurted out. Nip and Tuck both turned around to her, Toph was pointing at the mud on her feet.

"Hmm, I would say that is green." Nip said.

"Green? You blind? That's obviously brown." Tuck said almost yelling.

"How could that be a brown, can't you see the green, you ninny!" Nip said loudly.

"Well then, it would most likely be a brownish green." Tuck said reassuringly.

"I would say more like a dark moss green!" Nip argued.

"Wait, a second! There's a brownish green? How's is that possible? Aren't things just brown or green?" Toph said confused.

"No, girlie, that's the beauty of colors!" Nip said happily, "there are so many shades and so many possibilies! Take the color green for example, there are over 100 types of green and they're all different." Toph stood there in awe then she spoke, "There's that many types of green? And how you remember them all?"

"Well, you don't really remember, sometimes you make up names for them," said Tuck thoughtfully.

Toph looked down at the mud, "so this is brownish green?" she asked curiously. "Yeah," said Tuck. "Or moss green!" Nip yelled out. "So what would you call green?" Toph asked. "Hmm, I would say green would be something like your robes." Tuck said. She down at her robes, although they covered with mud, Toph could see a lighter more even color peering out. _Green_, she thought.

"Ha, and we're out of the swamp." Nip said happily. Toph looked around and saw they had passed the trees and her surroundings were no longer dark shades. Everything was brighter and much lighter. "Sure, is some pretty sky!" Tuck said looking up. And Toph looked up. And she began to cry. It was something so beautiful, so different to what she had seen. She realized how broken her heart would be if it was all a dream. As she cried she asked, "What color is that?"

"Blue." Tuck said softly. "Some would call it sky blue,"Nip said, "you know, because of the sky."

"I like blue, I like it very much." Toph said softly.

* * *

><p><em>Sky blue<em>, she thought. _What a lovely color,_ she thought as she walked down the streets of Ba Sing Se looking up at the sky.

Then she thought about Katara, how her eyes seem to have that exact blue color. It was no surprise to Toph; Aang fell so hard in love with her. She was beautiful and her eyes were of such a beautiful color. It was just no surprise to her. Sokka had the same eye color_, Sokka_, she thought and she laughed. He was such a goofball and he hadn't changed much. He was very handsome, too, it was no surprise to her, she had a crush on him when she was 12.

But those days were gone and she missed those days. Those days with the gang, going around, saving the world, bending their way through troubles, yes, those were the days! There was so much adventure going around and so much excitement, now everything was dull and boring.

As she passed by the market bazaar, she heard a loud yell, "CABAGES! GET YOUR CABAGES!" She turned around and she saw a man with a cabbage stand. She inspected the cabbages; they all had a healthy light green to them. She could tell it was light green and not lime green because lime green reminded her of lemons and had a yellowish tint to it.

Yes, Toph going to the fruits and vegetables bazaar. She loved going around and picking out the fruit and vegetable's colors. She noted every single item had a different and unique color. For example, the apples although all red, all had a different shade of red. Some were blood red, others a velvet red, some a pink red, some a hot red, others had an orange red to it. And some were just orange.

_Orange_, she thought. Orange was Aang's robes. Orange was Aang's room. Orange was Aang's bed sheets. Her mind trailed off and she shook her head in disapproval. _Yeah, the Airhead sure loved orange_. But each thing had a different shade of orange; Aang's robes had a simple neutral orange, while Aang's room was a poppy gold orange. (She knew it was poppy gold because once for her mother's birthday her dad brought flowers to her mother, some were oranges and her mother referred to the color as "Poppy Gold"). His sheets were much gold tinted, like a tangerine orange, she supposed.

Toph was great a picking colors out. Ever since she had been able to see, she set herself on knowing every color out there. If it was color she hadn't seen before, she made it up. And speaking of colors she hadn't seen before, she couldn't nail down Aang's eyes colors.

Technically speaking, his eyes were gray. But what kind of gray? Not just plain gray, she thought. It was a different shade of gray. Not silver gray, or dark gray, or brown gray. They were just so bright and vivid. It was probably the most beautiful shade of gray she could think of. And gray was usually not a nice color. Yet she liked Aang's gray, that soft shade of gray. She liked his eyes. She liked his eyes very much.

Something interrupted her thoughts as she walked a loud snort. "Come on, Mindy, go out with me!" said a young, muscular man. He was pulling on a girl sleeves eagerly. "No, Cheng, I told you I already have plans with someone else and you're a jerk!" the girl said pulling her arms out his grip. "Jerk? I'll show you who's the jerk." He said grabbing a hold of her arm once more. "Stop, Cheng, you're hurting me!" the girl said loudly.

"Hey, you, leave that girl alone!" Toph blurted out pointing at Cheng. "Huh?" he said looking at Toph. "She said she already had plans with someone else, it's obvious she doesn't you want you!" Toph added. Cheng looked at Toph and giggled, "Look, you're cute and all, in fact if me and Mindy weren't an item I'd even go out with you. You're pretty hot. But beat it, ok? This isn't your business."

Toph's face wrinkled and her eyes widened. She looked down at her earth bending belt, _Earthbending Champion_, she thought. "Haha, go out with you? Why you couldn't even beat a little kid in an Earth bending match. Face it stud, you're all brawl but no brains!" Toph said with a wide smile.

Some onlookers snickered while Cheng's face reddened. "Why you! You don't want to have any trouble, do you?" Cheng blurted out angrily.

"Ha, trouble! I don't see any trouble here, the only trouble I see here is your ugly face walking the lady's way." Toph said snickering. More people burst off laughing. "That's it!" said Cheng letting go of Mindy's arm. "Beat it, girl, you don't want me to beat up a girl, do you? Plus, I'm an Earth bending champ; you're no match for me!" Cheng said proudly stroking his belt.

An old man approached Toph and whispered, "He's right! He's very powerful and he doesn't care if you're a girl, he'll beat you up!" Toph ignored the old man's comment. "Actually, I feel the same way, why would I want to beat up a girl like you? And actually, and you walk away now I might spare your life and not hurt you, so for the best of everyone go off and walk away." Toph said eagerly.

Cheng's face reached another level of redness, "THAT'S IT! IT'S ON PRETTY GIRL!" he yelled out as he tore his shirt off. "Ha, it was always on, wasn't it?" Toph said in a matter-of-fact tone. She pulled out ribbon string out her pocket and she tied up her hair neatly. Then she took her earth bending stance.

"What's wrong? Pretty girl don't want to mess up her hair?" he asked in a mocking tone.

"No, I just want to see you better when I beat you up." Toph replied mockingly.

Cheng let out a grunt and quickly let his feet hit the ground producing a chain reaction towards Toph. She quickly glided doing a double flip and landed on one of the market stand. "You must be quicker than that!" Toph snickered. She hit the ground a producing a ground reaction the hit Cheng's feet which made him do a painful split. "OWW!" he hollered. "Ha, that always works." She grinned. Cheng's wide eyes fell on Toph, "Why you!" he yelled. He let a rock soar towards Toph; she jumped out of the way. The rock hit one of the fruit stands. "OH NO, MY CABBAGES! CABBAGES!" the cabbage man let out a painful yell.

"Ha, isn't it funny that I'm the one in a dress and still you're the one fighting like a girl?" Toph snickered at Cheng. Cheng's face took another red shade, almost velvet red.

Meanwhile the people stared at the two fighting Earth benders, a man whispered to another, "You know she reminds me of an Earthbender I once saw in an Earth Rumble tournament, such a great skill, but it can't be her!"

Cheng rage builds up and he let out several hits and misses at Toph. He managed to knock her off her feet and into another market stand. Toph crashed violently into the tomato stand. Cheng grinned. "Face it, you're nothing but a girl trying to play around with the champs! And you can't beat _the _CHAMP!" Cheng yelled out.

Toph quickly wiped off the tomato juice off her face. Her face revealed a wide grin. "You know something, Cheng? You remind me of an old friend, The Boulder. You guys are very much alike actually, "she said as she slowly stood up. Cheng face looked confused. "Do you wanna know what happened to him?" she said as she took a stance.

"I BEAT HIM!" Toph yelled out as rocks covered her and she glided her way to Cheng knocking him off his feet and throwing him onto a watermelon stand. Toph grinned at the sight, while cleaning her hand altogether. The onlookers were shock to see this. Cheng quickly shook his head and blurted out, "It's not over yet-"Suddenly, a watermelon fell on Cheng's head and knocked him unconscious.

"Ha, whatever." Toph said sarcastically.

"Impressive" "Astounding!" "I've never seen nothing like it!" "That girl can fight!" were some of the comment that erupted between the crowds. She walked slowly over the watermelon stand and took off Cheng's earthbender's belt. She grabbed the belt and then tossed it at some two boys who had been looking at the whole fight. "Tell them, the Blind Bandit is back and she did this to their champ. Tell them if they have any _better_ ones," Toph said as a matter-of-fact. The boys nodded anxiously.

"It's just bandit,now," she said grinning and walking away from the mess of market place.

She was back.

* * *

><p><em>It was certainly a pleasure and very fun writing this! Toph's back,yay! ^^ The first intercept by the way, is Toph's remembering the swamp and remembering when she first began seeing. I know it's still ambiguous but things will be known eventually!<em>

_Also for all of you who have read this story so far and it seems very familiar. It's because I was and am on Deviant Art and the first four chapters were available there! So you probably read it there!_

_Anyways, reviews of anykind are appreciated and thank you for reading!_

_-Alex_


	8. Tea

_First I deeply apologize for my lack of updates AT ALL! I deeply neglected this story however the creative bug bit me and I had to write. For those who are keeping up with this, bless your souls! Haha quite long but here it goes! -A_

* * *

><p>Last night's tea still lingered on Aang's tongue. However, he figured, it wouldn't hurt to have another cup of it. After all, in Mizaki's own words <em>this was going to be a long day. <em>"It only keeps getting longer," Aang thought as he gulped down his cup of the tea. _The Good Dragon_ was a popular tea restaurant, it was quite expensive and had a long history in Ba Sing Se. Aang had come here a couple times before, once he came with a girl who Mizaki had arranged a date with. She had been pretty but also clueless and snobbish. He also once came with Katara for an impromptu meeting, it had been when Katara had lived shortly in the Earth Kingdom. She seemed happier back then, cheery, and even though they had already broken up by then, her company gave Aang a little hope. Although he admitted to himself that it was possible Katara had been seeing someone in Ba Sing Se (or _had_ had an affair with someone, that's what the rumors said). Aang didn't care for rumors, he believed people talked too much already.

_Everyone talks so much in the Union_, Aang thought softly. He was so busy thinking about other problems he hadn't notice his splitting headache. He also realized how stronger than last night's ginger tea had been _Good Dragon'_s tea. He rubbed his bald head and sighed. He just wished this evening would go quickly and painlessly, after all what was tea with the delegates without the usual arguing and tea tossing.

As he stared across the lively tea room, he noticed a woman approaching him, she had vivid eyes and a sharp bone structure. Nakoto, the Fire Nation Delegate, was always precisely ten minutes early to every event since the Avatar knew her. Nakoto gave him a quick artificial grin that reveal two set of sharp teeth, her grin fit her personality perfectly. "My dearest Avatar," she said gracefully, "I am afraid I won't stay long for this tea meeting." She sat down swiftly and snapped her fingers at the waiter. He came right away, "What will it be,my lady?" the waiter asked. Her narrow eyes glanced only at the menu and her mouth said slowly,"Blood Red Tea, with ginger spice,please." "Interesting choice," Aang tried to say casually. "Oh, now,now we should all spice up our lives once in awhile,right?" she replied sincerely. "Agreed." Aang muttered as he sipped his second cup_ Good Dragon's _tea. _I been spicing up my life too much_, Aang thought. "You need some kick in your life,boy!" Mizaki had said, well Aang had enough kick already. His mind trailed off, and he found himself thinking about last night's incident,except now he surprisingly felt neutral about it, not outraged.

"Avatar?" Nakoto asked. "Um, yes, what?" Aang said quickly. "You seem a little..._ off_ today. Am I right? Or am I not?" Nakoto asked well rather said. She gave him a swift pity glance. "Oh,no,no, I was just thinking about today's meeting," he lied. Aang realized Toph and everything would have to wait until this evening was over. "Oh yes, the meeting," she said letting her sharp grin show. Her face went sour again and she said,"Pretentious baffun that minister is. If you don't mind me saying it." "Well everyone's entitled to their opinions of others," Aang said naturally,it was a monk belief and stuck to it. "Yes, yes, I suppose…" she added as a matter-of-fact.

They were next interrupted with the waiter who carried Nakoto's tea. "Be careful, it's quite hot," the waiter said out of routine. "Oh, don't worry, heat only burns those who cannot stand it. I'm not one of those," Nakoto replied taking a sip of her burning hot tea. Aang was impressed but incredibly surprised, Iroh could probably do that too. "And you, Mister Avatar, more Ginger tea?" he asked. "I supposed that will do," Aang replied politely. As the waiter left, Aang addressed Nakoto," I'm surprised at your choice,actually. I never had Blood Red tea, it seems rather strong in my taste." Nakoto nodded at Aang's statement.

"Well,actually the Blood Red tea is merely called because of the bright red color of it," she said dully. "But the making of the tea is rather hazed." She added slyly. "Isn't it red rose tea with red nectarine extract?" Aang asked casually. "No, it is red rose,yes but not the tea but the concentrate of it, concentrate which comes after the rose is bathed in animal juices, sometimes blood in cases, I have heard. However you cannot prove this because the blood taste is supposedly expelled away from the strong red nectarine extract," Nakoto said and took a sip of her 'bloody' tea. Aang gulped, not of disgust but discontent. He was a vegetarian and was deeply hurt when animal deaths were mentioned. He tried to smile artificially, but he only managed to get out a small smirk. Nakoto smile widen, "Did that upset your stomach,young Avatar?" "Not at all," Aang said sternly.

Out of the crowd, a woman appeared with blue attire and her hair neatly place in a ponytail. It was Katara, the Water Delegate, with her usual warm disposition and good-natured smile. "Sorry, I'm late," she said sincerely. Aang's stomach did a flip flop and his smile arouse, Katara made everything better. Nakoto quickly smiled and said charismatically,"Oh not at all,my dear, you're just on time, come here,sit!"

She pulled a chair and Katara sat neatly. She gave Aang a sweet smile which melted away all thought of red tea and animal blood. Aang looked down for he felt his face getting pink. "So I see you already started tea without me!" Katara said happily. "Oh pardon me, Miss Katara, I have no intention to stay,you see. Therefore I wanted to take a sip of some good tea before the baboon of Minister Zhing arrives!" Nakoto said almost exasperated. "Oh,well, he certainly isn't that horrible. I know he's tough, Lady Nakoto, but he is very respected and is very intelligent, I can assure you." Katara said with an honest touch,this didn't not satisfy Nakoto. "My dear, intelligence is relevant, you see," she said taking a small gulp of tea. "Some tea,Miss Katara?" the waiter asked as he walked near the table. "Jasmine,please," Katara said pleasantly. _Jasmine with cherry blossom extract_, Aang thought, _her favourite, but no cherry blossoms this time? _He looked rather concerned at Katara, he wondered how much she had change since they last saw each other. "Did you already have some tea,Aang?" she asked curiously.

"Oh yes, Ginger," he replied. "Ginger? Isn't that a bit too strong for you?" Katara said concerned. Yes that was Katara for you, always so motherly. Sometimes it was comforting but Aang admitted it could be overwhelming at times. He admitted he didn't care at all though, he had loved too much to have cared. He smiled at Katara question. "Well, not precisely, I have had stronger things before," he said in a-matter-of-fact tone. His mind quickly glimpsed at last night's scene, the girl on the couch who turned out to be Toph and too much Fire whisky, he nodded to himself. Katara laughed lightly, "Oh well I do not know of this Avatar's wild escapades!" Aang bit his lip, _wild escapades,indeed_. Nakoto let out a loud chuckle, "Oh don't be silly Katara, I doubt Avatar Aang has any escapades, and if he does I doubt they're _wild_!"

Perhaps it amused Nakoto that Avatar Aang being a monk would know anything about escapades, but Aang did, he did after last night anyway. "Now there, there, that was good laugh," Nakoto said almost to herself. "Now, I must retire," she said taking the last sip of her tea and standing up rather gracefully. "Oh,so soon?" Katara asked. "Yes, I'm afraid I have other matters to attend, not just avoiding that clown Minister," Nakoto said sharply. "Which matters may I ask?" Aang asked politely yet a decent amount of curiousity. "Oh Avatar, Fire Nation things which do not include matters of the Union," she said flashing her sharp grin. "Good day to both," she said as she graciously left the table. "Well isn't she a piece of work?" Katara said casually.

"Yeah, I admit I was scared of her when I met her," Aang confessed while he glanced at the tiny puddle of Blood Red tea left in her cup. _She still does_, Aang thought. "Yes, she's quite intimidating," Katara said as the waiter placed their drinks on the table. Katara held her drink, she smelled it softly. "But anyway, what's up with you?" she asked quickly. Aang nearly gulped out his drink, he managed to control himself and gave out an artificial chuckle. "What do you mean?" he said trying to be natural. "You know, you been acting kind of…spaced out, I mean more than usual,lately." Katara said blowing on her cup of Jasmine tea. Aang laughed silently at the 'more than usual', Katara still understood him on some level. "It's just all this Union stuff," Aang said and it came out naturally actually, he even gave a sigh unaware. "Oh, were all worried about the Union," Katara said sipping quietly her tea. She knew such matters were better best discussed quietly and in a not so crowded room. "I worry a lot more frequently nowadays," she said sincerely letting out a soft sigh. "There's just so much problems now," Katara admitted sadly,"fights, arguments,lands, power debates, it's all too much for me sometimes."

Aang held out his hand and placed it eagerly over Katara. "Don't worry, it'll work out, I feel like that all the time." Aang said smiling. "Sometimes you just need to let all sink it, go crazy a bit and get back to it," he added. Katara smiled, "that's true,Aang." "I guess I am in so much stress lately, there's been a decrease of salmon in the North Pole and the economy is really going down, and on top of that Gran Gran wants me to get married…" Katara said all in a breath. Aang jerked a little at the idea of Katara getting married, he asked,"You're not going to right?" Katara grinned and nodded,"No, I'm not ready yet, I was too young then…" She looked at Aang with sorrowful eyes and she said,"I am too young now."

"Well,I'm kind of the same boat, with Mizaki, I mean," Aang said painfully. "Ah, you are?" Katara said letting out a slight giggle. "That's funny,Aang, well you'll find someone right for you and I will,too, someday," Katara said hopefully. It hurt to think of Katara finding someone _right_ for her and he hated the fact that she still thought he wasn't good enough for her. Aang frowned a bit, he was never going to be enough for her. Katara held his hand stronger, "You're a good friend,Aang."

Aang managed to smile meekly and suddenly a voice interrupted their conversation, "Good evening, Miss Katara and Avatar Aang." Katara let go of Aang's hand quickly. She composed herself as she greeted Minister Zhing,the Earth Kingdom delegate. "Oh Minister Zhing, how lovely for you to join us!" Katara said politely. Aang nodded and added,"Please have a sit." "I'm afraid I shall not,dear Avatar." Minister Zhing said as a-matter-of-fact, he did smile lightly at him. "I have an impromptu meeting with the King, whom I am aware you are having dinner tonight," Minister Zhing said sternly. "Although a delegate meeting is necessary and important, other matters have a slight more urgency, " he said giving the word slight an emphasis. "Lady Nakoto must of noticed that as well," Minister Zhing added while he looked at the empty sit. "Anyhow," he continued,"I will be seeing you tonight at the King's Annual Dinner, Avatar Aang." Aang nodded,"Yes, I believe so,Minister Zhing, I completely understand you have other matters to attend." He smiled and nodded,"I'm glad you are a man of noblility and knowledge,good qualities in a young man!" Aang was embarrassed at the remark but Katara nodded agreeing with Zhing. "Anyhoo, I must leave now. Good day Miss Katara and til we meet again Avatar Aang," Minister Zhing leaving the premises. As he left, Aang said to Katara,"Well there goes another delegate meeting! At least there was no spilled tea or blood." Katara laughed,"I guess so."

Katara took another gulp of her tea and said,"so dinner at the King's? Say that's bit fancy for you." "Haha, I have wild escapades and fancy dinners,right?" Aang said playfully. "Yes, you're life has changed,a lot! And you have,too!" Katara replied with the same playfulness. "I have?" Aang said taking another gulp of his tea as well. "Yes,you're much more happy now!" Katara said, she realized how honest she had been when Aang quieted down. "Well,nothing's changed with me," he said half lying, half sincere. _Nothing had changed yet everything has_, he thought. Katara smiled ashamefully and finally added,"In any case, whatever you're doing , it's working." Aang gave a small grin and immersed his thoughts into last night quickly before Katara could noticed. _Wild escapades are doing me good_, he said to himself. Katara finished her last gulp of tea. She swallowed and asked curiously,"And, about that dinner? Who's your mystery date?" Aang had his last sip of tea and realized it tasted like last night's tea. It was last night's tea,alright.


End file.
